Places in the Bible Today:

Rameses

Data

Translated NamesRaamses, Rameses
Typesettlement
Notesseveral sources treat Qantir and Tell el Daba as interchangeable
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

4 Possible Identifications

  1. Qantir (modern): 55% confidence
    1. artifact from QantirQantir

  2. Tell el Daba (modern): 25% confidence
    1. closeup of Tell el DabaTell el Daba

  3. another name for Pelusium (ancient): less than 10% confidence
    1. statue of a god worshiped at Tell el FaramaTell el Farama

  4. Tanis (modern): less than 10% confidence
    1. ruins at TanisTanis

Verses (5)

  1. Gen 47:11
  2. Exod 1:11, 12:37
  3. Num 33:3, 33:5

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Biblemapper.com808
Logos FactbookRameses
OpenBible.info (2007)Raamses, Rameses
OpenBible.infoa079b21 (Rameses)
TIPNRRaamses@Exo.1.11, Rameses@Gen.47.11
UBS Names Databaseot ID_2717
WikidataQ937930

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Rameses (place)
  2. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land (1990): Rameses
  3. Baly, Atlas of the Biblical World (1971): Raamses
  4. Carta Bible Atlas, 5th Edition (2011)
  5. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (2008-2012): Exod 1:1-22
  6. Currid, Exodus (2001): page 34
  7. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Rameses (place)
  8. ESV Bible Atlas (2010)
  9. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (1984): Exod 1:11; Num 33:3-4
  10. Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible (1957): Rameses
  11. Hamilton, Genesis (1995): 47:11-12
  12. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (2011): Raamses, Rameses
  13. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  14. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979)
  15. IVP Old Testament Bible Background Commentary (2000): Exod 1:11
  16. Lexham Bible Dictionary (2016): Rameses
  17. Mackay, Exodus (2001): 1:11
  18. Matthews, Genesis (1996, 2005): 47:11-12
  19. New Bible Atlas (1985): Rameses
  20. New Bible Dictionary (1996): Ra’amses, Rameses
  21. New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary (2009)
  22. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988)
  23. Oxford Bible Atlas, Fourth Edition (2007)
  24. Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible (1981): Rameses
  25. Schlegel, Satellite Bible Atlas (2016): page 30
  26. Stuart, Exodus (2006): 1:11
  27. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (2001): Rameses (Place)
  28. Waltke and Fredricks, Genesis (2001): 47:11
  29. Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1956): Rameses
  30. Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975): Rameses
  31. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010)
  32. Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible (2010)
  33. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (2009): Gen 47:11
  34. Zondervan Pictorial Bible Atlas (1972): page 401

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others, for example, then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Thumbnail Image Credits

Sailko, Didia, Sailko, Markh

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.